My Wedding Day At Panera Bread

Well here is a great wedding story for you guys.  My husband and I were married on August 16,2008.  We live in Orlando, Fl., and we were going to get married over-looking Lake Eola.  It was a beautiful setting! Well, on the morning of the wedding, I was at my sister's house with my bridesmaids getting ready for my big day. My husband and step-son were at home, and they left ahead of time with 2 of my bridesmaids and ushers. They went and got the computer set up with our music, they put the runner in the aisle for me to walk on, and set up the flowers.  The wedding was due to start at 10am, but of course I was running late!  We were finally on our way, there were about 4 cars following the car I was in, and I was in a car with my dad, who was driving, and my Maid-of-Honor, my sister Diana.  We had my dad doing 80mph down the highway. I was in the back seat when I look to my left and saw some dark clouds!  I got nervous, and both my dad and sister were reassuring me that there was nothing to worry about.  At about this time the phone rings, and it was my soon to be husband telling my sister that it was raining. Now you have to realize that I am late for my own wedding, so the guests were already there!  Well needless to say it started to pour!  My husband to be called my sister again, and I yelled what are we going to do?  He told Diana to tell me not to worry that they are trying to figure something out! I couldn't even imagine what that was going to be, when he called back and said that the Panera Bread on Lake Eola said we could be married there.  I was so upset, but I had to laugh! What else could I do?  By this time the guests, my future husband, and the ushers were absolutely soaked!

When we pulled up in front of Panera, they told us we needed to go around the back because they were still setting things up, and not to mention that there was a huge puddle where we were parked!  So my dad pulled around the corner, and my sister and I got out, with one umbrella between the 2 of us. I had a wide and long dress!  My sister walked near the curb, trying to get people to move into the other lane so I wouldn't get splashed. Well wouldn't you know that a car came speeding down the street, and as my sister was screaming for him to move away from the curve, He went right through the puddle. When I saw him coming, I turned my back and all I could feel was a wave of water go right over me and hit my sister. As the guy drove away, he yelled HaHa out the window!  Oh my,mad was not the word for what I was! When we finally reached the doors to Panera we and everyone else was soaked!

When we got inside we realized that my 2 step-daughters and one of their boyfriends got tired of us driving slow, so they passed us, and wound up in Altamonte Springs which is about 25 minutes from where we were!  Well in the meantime, pictures were being taken, flowers were put in place, and the runner was placed on the floor. We didn't have any music because the computer got to wet, and the Unity Candle needed to be set up on a trash can which we Panera kind of decorated?  My husband-to-be and his ushers had to wait in the bathroom while pictures were being taken of me!  Finally my 2 step-daughters made it, and we were ready to begin!

In the end it was a lot of fun, because our family and friends shared our day with us, no matter how soaked they were, and even the customers were our wedding guests!  Everyone cheered us on!   After the ceremony was over they offered us free coffee and cookies for the kids. They could not have been nicer.  I thank them every time I look at my wedding pictures! 

Our reception was at our new home, and it was just so warm and loving. We only got a one-night honeymoon, because the kids stared school that Monday, but we made the most of it by spending the night in St. Augustine. When we got there, believe it or not, we didn't change. I stayed in my wedding gown and my husband in his tux. We went to dinner and people were buying us drinks, and we got a free desert.  Then to finish our crazy wedding day, we took a ghost tour! That's right a ghost tour in a wedding gown sounds crazy, but it was wonderful. People even stopped us in the streets to take pictures of us!

I have no regrets about that day, and I wouldn't change a thing! It was fun, wonderful, a memorable!  They say that rain on your wedding day is good luck, well if that's true we have the greatest luck in the world!

Before we met Jeff and I had lost a parent. I lost my mom 5 years before, and Jeff lost his dad 8 years before.  Both still saddened by the loss of our parents, we had the preacher recite some special words in honor of them both. After the preacher spoke we presented Jeff's mom and my dad a rose in honor of each of them. We had our 13-year old son and daughter carry them to us when the time came. It was a perfect way to honor them in all of our hearts.